I am about one third of the way through Roland White's "Harrier 809". I just wondered if people like Mogwi received an advance copy and could comment on it's authenticity?
An excellent read so far.

I’ve just received mine. I hope it’s good and has anybody on here contributed?

Only my pic of the RAF and Chilean Hercules side by side on Easter Island.

Sounds quite exciting when you put it like that! Perhaps CGI could take a few wrinkles off my face and I could play myself. (not with myself before anyone quips!) A few years ago a Puma was carrying out a low-level tactical approach to a certain hilltop airfield in Dorset when I spotted him in my Yak50. One guns pass later, I announced that it was 30 years since I had splashed a Puma - which was greeted by a very confused silence. It was obviously before his time. ☹️

Mog

Just finished reading 809 today

it’s broader than a lot of his other books and does give a different perpsectives like Atlantic Conveyor and the Argentinian view to a degree.

The 809 elements are interesting and give an insight that is not covered by Mog, Peter or sharkey. It is more of an a level letts revision guide to the Falklands air war

Really it as boys own feeder if you like read it and then I would read sharkey , then Mog and then Peter. Then you get a nice segway through a series of first person perspectives and each fills in the blanks or gives an interesting perspective to the one prior.

At the risk of being boring............

Jerry Pook and Mark Hare actually straffed and killed a Chinook and Puma in the vicinity of Mt Kent early on - and they haven't made a great fuss of having done so!

Just finished it and I found it very interesting especially the effort to get 809 ready for war.

Most of the war chapters were well written and added to the books by Mog and Sharkey, especially the 51 Sqdn and Canberra action.
For me it started to run out of steam about 1/2 to 3/4 way through and some aspects seemed to be skimped.
The RAF Harrier squadron treatment on Hermes, could have told the story, although I accept the the book was Harrier 809.
Enjoyable read and like Rolands's other books well written and engaging.

pm575

Humbling and honest
 

I failed biggin hill twice but did hamble,BEA and Swissair followed by loss of license, mountain glider flying, aerobatics, comps, instructing and currently jumping off mountains at 71 but a fantastic honest series of interviews. Thank you...ps I avoided the 74 after flying the sim..boring.

I noticed he put RAF Wyton as being in Rutland :) Still only about a quarter through.........
Lovely quote at the time,

Q, " Why is it called "FOLKLORE"?



A, " Because that's the way we do things around here "

How about Stephen Merchant?

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....422f15cb3.jpeg

Absolutely - that's gold!
He's even got the mad staring eyes.

Though to be fair Jerry Pook does give a fairly detailed account in his book including his missing with CBUs and Mark Hare's continuing the action with CBUs that had failed to drop. Mark Hare's aircraft also took small arms hits. It concludes with the usual frosty reception from LM on Hermes due to a disagreement over the advisability of five passes. They also caused damage to the rotors of the Huey the escaped - it was later repaired.

I would definitely add Jerry Pook's book to dagenham's list for another perspective on flying down among the lead and MANPADS from a ship whose Captain clearly wished they weren't there (As Peter Squire was warned on the day they arrived by Hermes' Commander.)

sorry i did mean Jerry's book ... long day and no sleep makes dagenham more barking than usual

While wandering in the ethernet I came across this 70's Harrier GR3 training film.

RAF Harrier Training

Operating with 1F aircraft on (in) Cannock Chase, this brought bought back memories of a time when we were young.

Apologies if it's done the rounds before. So many faces and characters.

No worries, I assumed you meant the late ACM Squire's The Harrier Goes to War his published version of 1(F)'s Op Corporate Diary. A PDF version of which is available at www.radarmalivinas.ar. This is a direct copy of the version that used to appear on the old official RAF website. (Not entirely clear if this was with permission although it does include a statement that it is Copyright Peter Squire 2004)

Mog - if you aren't cast, how about Dan Stevens?

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....8bf1db6e82.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....f962a01c94.jpg

Just finished the "809" book,
A lot of work went in to it, remembering that the events took place nearly half way back to the Battle of Britiain now.
An interesting perspective on, particularly ,Sea Harrier employment aspects with a variety of other operations highlighted.
Recommended.

Tumbledown and An Ungentlemanly Act were both pretty good. Alas nothing to do with the air war though.

Totally Concur, Definitely going to look up one of the files at the National Archives listed at the back of the book when this Covid cr*p dies down thanks to being a former member of the unit concerned (abet well after the war) plus having worked on the kit a couple of times (S259). Interesting thought about the comments on doing a "pathfinder" Harrier T Mk 4 in the book. Would there have been any issues getting a T Mk 4 aboard the CVS's (can't get them down into the Hanger due to elevators being too short or fuel capacity no where near large enough) and if that wasn't an issue why didn't somebody think of stuffing a Pave Spike and monitor out of a Buccaneer into a T Mk 4 and using it as a daylight only designator (or had that kit not yet been embodied yet?).

Actually the T4 had the same fuel capacity as the SHAR and GR3. The refuel system, however, would have needed modification as the CVS hoses would not physically fit the T4 because of slight airframe differences. The only way to refuel onboard was to fit the refuel probe and pump the gas in through that!!

Only done once to my knowledge.

On the other point; I believe Leonardo di Caprio modelled himself on my Falklands look!😊

Mog

What file are you looking for? Maybe I can help. Regards,
​​

Hi Marcantilan

Air 20/13102 Op Fingent, though there are a few other USST files worth my look at now I know they exist. The unit later became 144 Signals Unit with a Shiny New Plessey AR-3D and a certain TPS-43F. I'm more interested in the other 259's that were deployed (one on Ascension and I'm pretty sure another ended up at Ajax Bay).

Thanks Mog, definitely a major operational limitation.

This one? I've got it.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....0d1a129952.jpg

In fact, I used it to write something last year in an Argentine newspaper. PM so I could send it to you. Regards! Mariano

Mariano that is awesome, PM en route.

Hi Mog
I was very interested in your recount of the incident on the Nawhal.
I was an F4 Nav on the first F4 detachment to Stanley in Oct 1982 and was the Sqn. Intelligence Officer. As such I had access to the TS room in BFFI HQ. When they did not want me to know something, they all started to speak to each other in Russian, some of which I understood which shook them somewhat (when they realised eventually). What was amazing to me (and we were a SACLANT assigned Sqn.) was the they did not know (or seem to care) about the F4 radar capability. I eventually visited HMS Yarmouth (I think it was) and talked to the fighter controllers and briefed them on exactly what we could do for them and their radar pickets. They were, amazingly, amazed.
At that time w e were primarily tasked with "presence sorties" designed to show we could operate anywhere but the Argentine AF were denied the 200nm Exclusion Zone (EZ) and we had specific orders to engage them inside it.. So, accordingly, once we got airborne heading West to 30,000ft, we did a full (sanitisation as Sharkey would describe it ) plot of the whole area ,200nm from our position, the maximum range of the F4 pulse radar, which was of course plotted on the picket's Air Ground Environment screens. The pickets were delighted with this info and I am sure it gave them great comfort in their operations.
One day we got airborne and did our usual surveillance. We could see the Polish fishing fleet inside the EZ and the Argentine fishing fleet outside it but I got a single surface contact well clear of all the others, which was exactly on the EZ limit. We were tasked to investigate. Unlike your trips, we had to be singletons in operation so we decided to go in 10,000ft - low enough to be visual but above Manpads. Like you we saw a stern trawler but with clear decks and an array of antennas. We reported and orbited, very wary of it being rabbit bait. I could almost hear the clunk of the communication train to Whitehall and started to understand why we were carrying the SU-23 gun pod (1200 rounds of High Explosive Incendiary ammuniition- at 100 rounds per sec) but was very relieved to be told some 10 minutes later that the Navy would take over. Although if ordered, we would have, in hindsight, I was relieved that we had not travelled 8000nm to take out 5 sailors in the middle of nowhere and not for a particularly good reason (unlike your circumstances).

A story not yet documented but it meant lot to me.

The Sweep

Was witness to Mogwi's gun run on the raiding Puma in Daarset . Stunned silence was certainly the answer , both he and his leader seemed to wobble at the R/t call .
Very effective 'tho , we've not had a Puma visit since , Lynx , Apaches , French Super Puma , etc. But no RAF ones .

rgds condor .

Mog,

Some truly excellent stories!

You're an inspiration to us all.

Thank you for your Service.

BSweeper - I take it that's a typo and you mean 1982...

ATB

Sorry yes. Now corrected. Thanks for letting me know

The Sweep